Cheap and wanting to use their CHANCE here to make their value known for the next contract

Want to be part of something and a team after bad experiences

Understand Petes philosophy

Physical freaks as far as size, speed or both

Intelligent and football smart

Willing to set me stats aside for team wins

Regardless of position these are the guys that end up making the grade as free agents here. If you wrap these traits around a guy and he fits it their is a chance he would be on the roster. We invite everyone because that is what John and Pete do, no stone unturned. But whether we think they are part of the big picture is not always evident till Game time starts. As I said in another thread, we bring guys in just to allow our young guys to get exposure to savvy vets that still have game but not enough to beat out our starters only to release them. Nice way to get some upcoaching and experience for our depth.

LOL....True, but who doesn't.

Thats who we bring in and who sticks, they don't look at names.

Clemons was a house hold star before he came here right, Browner was so well known we had a bidding war with the rest of the league for him. Robinson was so wanted that teams were giving up first round picks to get ahead of us to sign him. Yes being sarcastic here but thats what we look for. They all were or are key players we took from situations where they were not used to their potential or were not given a chance to play to their strengths and all were told in some way they were not good enough.

Oh and I have to keep reminding myself your the closet 49er fan here also so explaning stuff could lead to tantrums and rants if you don't agree.

To Be P/C or Not P/C That is the Question..........Seahawks kick Ass !!!! Check your PM's, Thank you for everything Radish RIP My Friend. Member of the 38 club.

SharkHawk wrote:I've read a lot of opinions on Kruger lately. I am not sure how well the archive works here... but I've posted quite a bit about him over the last year or so I think. Paul wasn't a DE until he lost a QB battle in camp in college. He was the best high school QB in the state of Utah and is as cool and great of a teammate as there ever was. He was nearly killed after being stabbed many MANY times in an attempted murder. This is one reason why he turned pro early. He was still a bit undersized and was still learning the position. But he had a breakout season at Utah as a DE and went pro as his stock was up, and life is short and he'd already experienced the near death experience that changes so many.

He was strongly recruited by BYU and Utah as a QB, and both schools are pretty good at recruiting QB's. BYU said they wanted to move him to LB, Utah wanted to use him as a QB, so he chose to go there. Then they changed their mind. He played, almost died, came back and played even better, and hit the NFL as a still pretty raw player. He has just started to hit his stride. He was a QB from the time he was a little kid and is a supreme athlete. I think he compares very well to Clem in a guy that is just putting it together a bit later because he wasn't the prototypical DE from age 12 like some of these guys that are high draft picks. I don't think he's just good because of Suggs as some have suggested. He's gotten by on athleticism and work ethic for sure, and now is really developed into a true DE. His best years are ahead of him.

I like Paul. I like his family. I think he would be 100% perfect as a fit for the Hawks. He isn't a Grant Wistrom type of signing where the guy had a couple of semi-good years on a team with a dominant offense and is due for an overpayment from a dumb team. He is a supreme athlete, teammate, and human being who is due to breakout in a major way if put in the right situation, and he commands respect from his life experiences and the respect he shows to others and has earned. If I had any say in it, he'd be my #1 target of realistic options. Keep in mind... his whole family still lives here in Utah near Provo (city of Orem about 30 minutes from the SLC airport). His brothers are players too in the Pac 12 at Utah as are many of his relatives, friends, and so on. I think the draw to the west coast would be strong, especially with a strong team. It's a 90 minute flight home from Seattle which is about what many of our commutes are. I think this could really work in our favor if the Hawks went after him. It would be so much easier for his family to attend games and such.

He is loyal and am sure he'd play in Baltimore for his whole career, but I think with the right offer and if Balto doesn't wow him off the bat, that Paul would give very serious consideration to offers from Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver due to the closeness of his family (geographically and emotionally), and the close regional proximity to his loved ones, and the fact that all three teams are excellent teams. I don't see him going to a place like Arizona, San Diego, or Oakland because they are all not particularly good franchises. But I can see the lure of a winner that is so close to home. Seattle would be a nice fit, and with the right amount of zeros on a deal I would think he would at least consider it and pause and think through all of the positives of such a move (if Baltimore doesn't come to play at the negotiating table). But knowing him... if Baltimore is close, he'll stay put because he's that kind of guy. To me... that means he's the kind of guy I'd like to swipe and add to our team.

He is a total ball hawk and oozes leadership. I've seen similar players see opportunities like this and bolt because they have a chance to move to a younger team and lead rather than stick with a bit older team and be a "piece of the puzzle". I've said it too much. I'd be 100000000 percent behind a heavy pursuit of Paul and hope it isn't just a pipe dream on my part. Great player, and an even better person. Fits the Hawks mold of player perfectly. Was always the underdog as a DE in college. He was a QB playing OLB/DE and learning on the job and was dominating while just picking it up. I'd go after him over Osi or anybody else that is available at DE. Rotating him in and using him while Clem recovers, and then having a lineup with multiple looks with Irvin, Clem, Mebane and Kruger in on passing downs could be a thing of beauty. Paul has incredible football knowledge and I can see him having zero issue covering in zone blitz packages due to his speed and knowledge of offenses. Overall, he'd be my #1 target to help the pass rush from the outside.

Phenomenal post Shark. You just turned me into a big fan of Kruger's. I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday, a diehard Ravens fan, and he told me that he hopes Kruger will stay put. However, with Flacco's contract status up in the air he's not so sure what will happen. Seattle might have a chance to steal him. Like you, he raved about Kruger and thinks that he's only going to get better. A lot of people have pointed to his lack of top notch speed as a reason the Seahawks might possibly not be interested, but I don't think they will discriminate when it comes to getting guys who can rush the passer. They stressed that that's the area of need they need to fix most. Sometimes certain guys just know how to get to the QB, despite limited physical ability.

And he played absolutely huge when it mattered most. 4.5 sacks in the postseason, 1 of those being in the Super Bowl. That's ballsy play right there. I expect that Pete and John will be interested. Hopefully, they get the chance to wow him with what they've built here in Seattle. You'd have to figure that San Fran would be in on him hard too considering he's already playing in a 3-4 and might make a smoother transition. Plus, they'd want to keep him away from a rival as even they know that he'd improve the Seahawks a great deal. I wonder how much $ he'd command.

Cheap and wanting to use their CHANCE here to make their value known for the next contract

Want to be part of something and a team after bad experiences

Understand Petes philosophy

Physical freaks as far as size, speed or both

Intelligent and football smart

Willing to set me stats aside for team wins

Regardless of position these are the guys that end up making the grade as free agents here. If you wrap these traits around a guy and he fits it their is a chance he would be on the roster. We invite everyone because that is what John and Pete do, no stone unturned. But whether we think they are part of the big picture is not always evident till Game time starts. As I said in another thread, we bring guys in just to allow our young guys to get exposure to savvy vets that still have game but not enough to beat out our starters only to release them. Nice way to get some upcoaching and experience for our depth.

LOL....True, but who doesn't.

Thats who we bring in and who sticks, they don't look at names.

Clemons was a house hold star before he came here right, Browner was so well known we had a bidding war with the rest of the league for him. Robinson was so wanted that teams were giving up first round picks to get ahead of us to sign him. Yes being sarcastic here but thats what we look for. They all were or are key players we took from situations where they were not used to their potential or were not given a chance to play to their strengths and all were told in some way they were not good enough.

Oh and I have to keep reminding myself your the closet 49er fan here also so explaning stuff could lead to tantrums and rants if you don't agree.

There isn't a team that doesn't want to find cheap, young, chip on their shoulder players who are physical freaks. That's stating the obvious. The Seahawks surely have been better at finding these guys than the competition (which bodes very well for our future). Still, Seattle has shown a willingness to spend on a Brandon Marshall, Sidney Rice, Zack Miller, or even to a lesser extent Matt Flynn.

The question is simply how much would the player fit in Pete's scheme and how much does the organization want the player. I don't see a need to spend a lot this offseason, but unlike you I wouldn't be surprised one way or the other if they shell out some money for a player they like.

Wait.....did you say 49er fan??Where did that come from?? There's no team a despise more. The only team I have and will ever root for is the Hawks. You're kinda weird dude....unless this was just a misunderstanding of sorts.

One FA I like doesn't address a glaring team need on the surface but I think a relevant step to success is Danny Woodhead RB New England.

First the need. Lynch will be 28 in April, and we just had him rush for the most carries of his career (315), with a mobile QB even. I'd much rather see him around 280, not because he isn't tough, but because 300+ wears on a RB's career and I want to eat Skittles for a 2-3 more years. Turbin could get more carries to cure this, but having a return specialist (Pro Bowl or not) eating up $3.4m and a spot where we could add a cheaper threat to the RB depth chart and draft a WR/DB with return talent in the late rounds for chicken feed annoys me.

Enter Woodhead, who is smart, tough, and a competitor. With Cable's help he could learn the zone blocking scheme, and he's a great 3rd down weapon in a system with a capable QB, either rushing or receiving he is very tough to bring down, he pass protects, lines up wherever needed and is smart and veteran enough to adjust and flourish under RW.

Woodhead makes 850k in NE and wouldn't break our bank to sign. It's all about giving Wilson a quality, cheaper target who could upgrade our 3rd down efficiency, is a team player, and a fan favorite in NE. To me saving Lynch's wheels and increasing 3rd down efficiency helps our offense across the board.

3.4 million a year mostly for field position and limited RB touches which helps little if drives bog down. Compared maybe 2 million a year to secure a both a cheap 3rd down upgrade which eliminates a big need for the field position AND a rookie WR/DB return specialist that plays for peanuts.

Let's face it, if Lynch goes down, we have Turbin, but after him, the dropoff is steep and we'll be passing more then we like.

I'm really curious to see what San Diego does with RFA Danario Alexander. If they are smart, they'll use the 2nd round option on him which is a 1 year, $1.9 million contract. They might try to save some money though and go with a lower tender- not sure how that works though since he was a UDFA.

If Alexander is available, I'd be really interested in acquiring him for a Mike Williams / Ben Obomanu type contract while the rest of the league is obsessing over some of the big names at WR this March. Alexander finished 2012 in a flourish, with all 658 yards and 7 TDs coming in the months of November and December (9 games). Prorated over a full season, that would mean 1170 yards with 12 TDs. He's fast enough to break away for big plays, and he was the only WR to top Golden Tate in yards per target this past season. That's right, Alexander finished #1 in the NFL in that category.

Oh, and he's also 6'5" with long arms. Thought I'd throw that out there.

I really feel like this team can win it all this coming year and some veteran leadership/talent in a few area's could go a long way. Tommy Kelly praises Seymour a lot for helping make huge strides at DT. Seymour gives you a guy with experience and he can play end or in the middle. He was on pace to be the top DT in the league last year before his injury. Seems like the perfect fit if he'll move to another team.

Also I do not like the OLB's in this years draft. I would take a look at Gerald McRath from the Titans. He could be a big bargain, and he's the long rangy and fast type of LB Pete Carroll likes.

NYCoug wrote:Of course, I could be wrong. The team might try and make a huge splash or two and pick up some marquee free agents to create the feeling of the FO doing whatever it takes to get the best talent to Seattle to get a ring. What do you guys think? The marquee names approach or the "Always Compete" approach? Which type of free agents will be the best fit with this team and which type of FA will the front office pursue?

I'd be really surprised to see the team make a splash, and here's a recent bit from a Peter King article that might shed some light on that:

Peter King of SI wrote:Although there are four teams with more than $30 million in cap room with the dawn of free agency two weeks away, I expect this to be a stingy season for one of the best free agent classes ever.Why? Three reasons:1. The new young class of general managers are far more interested in building through the draft than with their checkbooks. Consider this point from one such young-turk general manager of a team that in the past has spent generously in the March free-agent market: "I'm more concerned with keeping our own team intact than spending money on players we could use, but who would create problems of their own." Although this team needs a wide receiver and pass rusher, this general manager fears the impact of high-priced imports on his locker room at a time when he's not going to be able to pay everyone big money.

Tell me that doesn't sound like Schneider and the Seahawks being referenced there. I think people can kiss the Wallace/Bowe and Freeney/Umenyiora dreams good bye.

Kooshster wrote:Schefter just reported on twitter (https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status ... 0236952576) that the Lions released DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. I remember us taking a look at him a few years back, but him opting for a heftier contract with them. Thoughts? He's 34, so probably only a one-year contract, but might help hold down the DE position until Clemons comes back.

Assuming, of course, we can't find an every-down DE in the draft.

Book it...he'd do we'll here. Solid guy as well. Hard working overacheiver

Wes Welker. I know he's got a lot of mileage on him, but if he has anything left in the tank, I think we should go after him. Who better is there at getting open, especially when a play has broken down and Wilson is scrambling around looking for someone to throw to?

Erebus wrote:I don't think a big splash is necessary. Just find a couple quality starters, such as Desmond Bryant and Jared Cook. I think we'll find it much easier to sign free agents now that we have a franchise QB, a top defense, and coming off a playoff appearance.

I assume a TE like Cook would prefer to catch passes from Russell Wilson than Jake Locker. Seattle is also an ideal place for pass rushers to play. They'll get that extra boost from the 12th man, and also get a few coverage sacks with our great secondary.

Spot on. Add to this a beautiful first class training facility, some of the best medical facilities on the planet and a hands-off owner.